How to Make Homemade Strawberry Syrup

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Yesterday I picked up two flats of strawberries for $30. Fresh strawberries will only last a couple of days, so I needed to use them up fast. I first tried making strawberry basil vinaigrette for the first time, and it is WONDERFUL. I also wanted to try making homemade strawberry syrup for french toast, pancakes, and ice cream.

It turns out that strawberry syrup is really easy to make and is totally worth the effort. My whole family was brave enough to try it on their french toast tonight for dinner, and they weren't disappointed. I can't wait to try it on ice cream or in an Italian Soda.

Ingredients:

6 pints (12 cups) sliced strawberries

7 c. sugar

This recipe makes approximately 3 pints or 6 half-pints of strawberry syrup. You could easily double the recipe if you want to make more.

Place the sliced strawberries in a blender and blend well. Place blended strawberries and sugar in a large sauce pan. Heat to a full boil, and reduce heat. Boil for 10 minutes. Put the strawberry mixture through a fine mesh sieve or strainer or food mill to remove the strawberry seeds and pulp.

For other syrups I have run the fruit through the sieve first before adding the sugar. This recipe called for adding the sugar first. An interesting thing happened...when I put the strawberry puree through the sieve to extract the juice, I ended up with an entire pint of strawberry jam! No kidding! It IS possible to make homemade jam with no pectin, if you bring the fruit mixture to the soft ball stage (220 degrees F). The combination of heating this mixture for 10 minutes and then removing all the liquid left me with some beautiful strawberry jam. You can either put it in the refrigerator to eat it right away or you can place it in a canning jar and process it right along with the jars of strawberry syrup, which is what I decided to do.

After you remove the juice (syrup) from the strawberry mixture it is ready to pour into the hot sterilized canning jars. If it has cooled off while you were running it through the sieve, then return the syrup to the stove to heat it up before putting it in the jars. When pouring into the jars, leave 1/2 inch headspace.

Wipe the edges of the jars with a damp towel and place lids and jar rings firmly on jars. Place jars in boiling water bath and process for 10 minutes. Place jars on a towel on your kitchen counter to cool completely, making sure that all jars have sealed before storing. These jars can be stored for a year or more in a cool dark place.

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